Welcome to the May Issue

As I enter Washington State to attend the Northwest Horn Symposium at the Central Washington University in Ellensburg, hosted by Jeff Snedeker, I think back on the very first workshop I attended, and the significance it had on my own career

It was in Montreaux, Switzerland, in 1976; I was invited to attend by Paxman’s to demonstrate their instruments. All the in great players of the day were there: Barry Tuckwell, Herman Baumann, Peter Damm, Gerd Seifert, Frøydis Ree Wekre, to name but a few. I had recordings of all these people, as they were at the very top of their profession and, like many young players, I aspired to play like them. To be among such distinguished guests was a great thrill at the time, although I was not to know how it would influence my own career. It was Barry Tuckwell who, after hearing me play, got me an impromptu spot in the programme to perform Bach’s Badinerie for horn quartet. The quartet was me, Peter Damm, Ib Lanskey Otto, and Frøydis (if I am not mistaken - it was a long time ago!). This opportunity gave me the chance to play for hundreds of people, which spawned other invitations to attend other workshops – and then others – and so it went.

Welcome to the New Year

It might not be "New Year" any more, and most people have probably already broken their New Year's resolutions (easy for me – I didn't make any!), and got over the guilt after all the overindulgence of the Christmas festivities. The Christmas season brings us in touch with family and friends – some of whom we see only at this time of year.

Unfortunately, much of this communication has become strangely detached from reality – people request to be "friends" on Facebook without a word of introduction or any reason for wanting to become "friends"!Communication has become especially easy these days, with high-speed internet connections, and with the social networking of Facebook and Twitter, we are communicating a lot more, and a lot faster than we used to.

Welcome to the Fall issue of The Horn Call

As your new old IHS President, I would first like to thank the Advisory Council for their confidence and support in electing me for this second term. It is an honour for me to serve the IHS in this way once again.I need to say a very big thank you to our outgoing President, Jeff Snedeker. He has worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to push forward the interests of the Society, and is now taking a well-earned rest. I am sure he will remain very active somewhere in the background!

Two Weeks in March

As I was thinking about my last President’s Message, I was reminded of how lucky I am to be in music. My university, like so many other schools and school districts, is wrestling with budget issues that inevitably involve all of us and extend to discussions of music’s place in our culture. As we wrestle, we are often blinded by the daily activities that can provide us with our strongest arguments. I realized that the past two weeks (in the first half of March, in our printing schedule) were perfect in illustrating not only how music participates in our lives but, again, just how lucky I am to be able to make music.

Advocacy in San Diego, November 2009

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was given the opportunity to attend the annual conference of the National Association of Schools of Music in San Diego. Founded in 1924, this organization has about 625 member institutions, and through its accreditation process, establishes national standards for music degrees in higher education. The overall theme this year was advocacy for music and musical training. I confess that, in the rush to get future performers and educators trained in technique, musicality, and pedagogy, I sometimes forget that there are other practical skills that need to be developed in my students – for example, preparing them to communicate the value of music or art in general and its relevance to society to audiences, institutions, and communities.